Fastening device



June 10, 1958 w. c. WOOTTON FASTENING DEVICE 2 Sheet s-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 26, 1954 \NVENTOR W\LL.\AM C. WOOT.TON,. BV/ f ATTORNEY.

June 10, 1958 w. c. WOOTTON 2,837,803

' FASTENING DEVICE Filed NOV. 26, 1954 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvENToR: \MLLlAM (lwooTToN ATTORNEY.

United States Patent FASTENING DEVICE William C. Wootton, Centerville, Calif., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to United-Can Fastener Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Application November 26, 1954, Serial No. 471,316

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-81) This invention relates generally to fastening devices, and has particular reference to a fastening device for securing together a group of cylindrical containers of the type having a peripheral bead or rim at each end.

Certain foods and beverages marketed in cans are customarily sold in groups of three, four, or six, and for convenience in handling are frequently assembled into cardboard packages of various types. Such packages have been found to have a number of disadvantages, in that they require complicated and expensive machinery for assembly of the cans therein, they conceal the labels on the containers, and the cardboard is weakened by moisture.

This latter diliiculty frequently interferes with the proper operation of the attaching machinery, prohibits the use of wet coolers for chilling the packaged containers, and requires special precautions during transportation and storage to prevent damage by dampness and moisture which would cause rupture of the containers during subsequent handling.

Various types of metal clips have been proposed for this purpose, but such clips have also been found to have disadvantages, such as being too expensive, too difiicult to feed and attach by automatic machinery, or too diflicult to remove by the purchaser.

The object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive fastening device for securing together a group of containers which is readily adapted to automatic feeding and attachment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastening device for the purpose described which is adapted to draw the cans tightly together during assembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastening device for the purpose described which securely retains the cans in assembly yet is readily removable by the purchaser.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a fastening device embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a group of cans spaced with the fastening device of Fig. l positioned thereon;

Fig. 4 is a view in section of the assembly of Fig. 3 after the cans have been forced together with the foremost can omitted for clarity;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the assembly of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of an assembly of six cans after completion of the attaching operation;

Fig. 7 is a view in section taken on line 77 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged top plan assembly of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a fastening device 10 which is adapted for attachment onto a group of cans 12 to retain the cans in assembly.

view of a portion of the "ice The cans 12 are of the type which have a cylindrical body with a peripheral head 14 at each end which extends radially and longitudinally from the body.

The fastening device 10 is preferably formed of a single piece of sheet'metal and comprises generally a central cylindrical body portion 16, a peripheral rim 18 disposed at one end of the body, and a peripheral flange 20 disposed at the other end.

The body 16 has a predetermined diameter such that it will fit closely within the multi-cusped space between a desired number of cans disposed uniformly about a point with adjacent cans touching, and the rim 18 is curled outwardly from the lower end thereof to extend under the innermost portion of the beads of the surrounnding cans.

The flange 20 has a group of uniformly spaced portions 22 which extend radially far enough to be disposed over the innermost portion of the can bead, and each portion 22 is provided with a shear 24 extending substantially perpendicular to a radius of the cylindrical portion, providing a deformable portion 26 having an inwardly facing edge 28. The position of the shear is such that the deformable portion 26 is bendable downwardly to enable the edge 28 to engage the inside of the can bead in a manner to appear hereinafter.

In the illustrated embodiment, the fastener 10 is designed for securing together a group of four cans disposed with centers at the corners of a square, with adjacent containers touching at the beads. One method of assembling the fastener 10 thereon is by first positioning the containers so they are spaced slightly apart, orienting a fastener 10 at each end of the containers so that the portions 22 are disposed over the innermost portion of the can beads, and seating the fastener onto the containers so that the rim 18 and the cylindrical body portion 16 enters the space between the cans and the portions 22 rest on top of the innermost portion of the can beads. are then forced together bys'uitable means (not shown) so that the rim 18 seats under the can beads 14, and the shear lines 24 are properly disposed in relation to the upper edge of the beads, that is, with the center of the shear line disposed outside the uppermost portion of the bead.

Assembly of the fastener onto the cans may then be completed by forcing the deformable portions 26 downwardly so that the inwardly facing edges 28 bear against the inside of the beads. Since each shear line 24 is straight and the beads are curved, the edges 28 bear progressively tighter against the beads as they are forced downwardly so that the cans are drawn tightly together.

As illustrated in Fig. 6, it is convenient to assemble a pack of 6 cans by means of four fasteners of the type I illustrated and described.

Although the illustrated fastener is designed to be attached tofour cans, clips utilizing the principles disclosed herein may be used to attach other numbers of cans by providing a suitable number of sheared deformable portions, and by adapting the size of the cylindrical portion to conform to the size of the opening between the cans.

Since certain other obvious modifications may be made in the device without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

A fastening device for securing together four cylindrical containers having peripheral beads at the ends, said device being adapted for assembly into the quadri-cusped shaped space at the end of a group ofcontainers spaced with their centers disposed on the corners of a square and with adjacent containers touching, said device comprising a cylindrical body portion for bearing against the innermost portions of the group of container heads, a circum- The cans 12 extending outwardly therefrom and a circumferential flange extending radially from the upper end of the cylindrical body, said flange having four sheared portions dispQsed therein: which areuniformly spaced about the flange, each 0f saidsheared portions extending generally perpendicular to .a; radius of the cylindrical; portion and having an inwardly facingt edge deformable downwardly into engagement withthe inside of a container bead.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pinney May 3, 1898 Buedingen Feb. 26, Graham Aug. 17, Steele May 6,

Burnet June 9, Holmberg July 28, 

